21 Responses to Running on Empty: Suns 112 Warriors 103

I thought Curry showed remarkable poise the whole game, especially the first half, which was as much as I expected to see. (Throw out two bad passes.) And he was instrumental in getting things started on offense many times that half, even though he didn’t get assists for his efforts.

14 for 25 for Curry would have been nice. . . .

What happened the second half? Why didn’t they move the ball around more? Did Phoenix defense clamp down that much? Or were they trying to go to a two man offense, Curry/Maggette, as Monta/Maggs have been doing?

I was disappointed in the Warriors offense, but recognize there may not have been an answer. Simply too shorthanded to run, and with Monta off the court they may not have been the fastest team on the court anyway.

Also, Phoenix trapped Curry on the pick and roll ferociously the few times he ran it, clearly not worried about open shooters with Ellis, Morrow, Vlad Rad out. The offense was boring, but surprisingly effective, given the Warriors exhaustion.

We still might have pulled it off if we’d simply been able to rest more players on the front end of the back-to-back, the blowout of NJ. Maggette especially. He didn’t look like he had his superman suit on last night.

Another tough loss, but again we pushed a playoff team to the limit with a comparatively ragtag squad, which I don’t mean as an insult. I like the effort and that’s why I keep watching. By comparison, there were many seasons in the ’80s and ’90s when I didn’t watch a single darn game, because the effort wasn’t there.

2 assists versus 25shots was not a stat for the future Steve Nash. I am sorry but this game was a true dissapointment to me. After turning off the NBA channel earlier in the day because they highlighted Evans, Law, Flynn and Jennings, I was hoping for a HUGE assist game from Curry. Game plan or not, he should have gotten at least 4 just by sneezing. I was ok with the loss, but I hope Curry can learn to penetrate and find the open man.

IMB, he would have gotten at least 4 if some of his teammates had hit the jumpshots he assisted on. It’s tough to judge him on his assist numbers given this lineup, this gameplan and this road back-to-back. I’m confident in my evaluation.

But I share your disappointment in this game. Not a great game to watch.

Plus add the amount of time he’s had to work with this team — not much. Turiaf, George, the D-leaguers, and Biedrins have only played together for 1-2 weeks. Tolliver and Martin have only learned limited plays. Then add the fact that he didn’t really have players, a plan, to set him up as a shooter. He’s not Ellis, and can’t take a team on one on one. He’ll be as good as his team is, once everyone is on the same page. Also he was tired and on a leash to avoid foul trouble. Not the best night to evaluate him on.

Also I recall several OK passes to the bigs, who fumbled or kicked the ball out or otherwise didn’t convert. Again, they haven’t played that much together — and is Turiaf going to start moving to the hoop?

I don’t want to discount Watson’s effort at all. He probably kept the game from becoming a blowout. But they played almost the entire game with one guard, a horrible test.

Here’s one for the theorists: Reverse the situation. Same game and players, except Monta is in and Curry out, and I bet we get the same results, though for different reasons, maybe because we don’t get as much scoring from the others?

Felt: watching all of our bigs repeatedly fail to finish on great Curry passes to them under the basket, doesn’t that make you yearn for Brandan Wright? : ) I guarantee you that Curry to Wright is going to be something (as long as BW returns healthy).

Lol. That’s a funny needle COM. But the fact of the matter is that you’re absolutely right. Brandan Wright would be a heck of a finisher on the pick and roll, probably the best the Warriors have. (Although I have a vestigial memory that Beans used to be a great finisher. Am I hallucinating that?)

The problem with Brandan Wright is that he can’t defend or defensive rebound. Or shoot. In other words, everything else.

We DO NOT have a complete 4 or 5 on the roster or IR. Every single players has major gaps in their game or capababilies. Jump shot, finishing, post up, defense, free throw- Now if we had a player named RonBran Biedolf- thebn we’re talking . Or maybe just trade two of them for one half decent player.

I should know better, but I saw the trade rumor on that Comcast site which gave me pause. Since they televise the games I thought they’d be more conservative in what they report. Not necessarily the case? Also following the club off and on the last 30 years has got me jittery.

But it’s hard not to wonder if Ellis still wants a trade, the reason he’s playing so hard.

If nothing else, we learned Saturday we can rest a starting guard and remain competitive. Here’s hoping Ellis paces himself next half.